“Worthy
of the Call” by Jim Bayne
... you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes upon
you, and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
God mounts his throne to
shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
(Ps 47:6)
I, then, a prisoner for
the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another
through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of
peace: one body and one Spirit, as you
were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in
all. (Eph 4:1-6)
He said to them, “Go
into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be
saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents [with their
hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will
lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
(Mk 16:15-18)
Piety
O God of earth and sky, as Jesus came among us in Bethlehem to
raise us up to heaven, so today we recall his departing from us at Jerusalem to
be in all places. Though he is hidden from our sight,
enable us to abide in him by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, until his
mercy and grace fill your whole creation. Amen. (– from The Daily Office)
Study
A number of years ago, we had an album
of Christian music sung by a choir that was so together that you could actually
hear them breathe together as they
sang. One of their songs began with the
narrator, a man with a deep baritone voice, saying you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you. The breathing
together was especially present in the song they sang following this
quote. Were that we could live our lives
each day in such tight harmony and togetherness.
Sometimes it seems as if our world is
far removed from living in a manner
worthy of the call we have received.
It can be easy to feel as if we have lost the power of the Holy
Spirit. We might even wonder if we ever
received it. Beautiful harmony and
breathing together seems far removed from our world. Proclaiming the gospel to every creature seems like a dream.
And yet, there are signs of progress
all around us:
- Young people coming out of their classrooms into the street calling for an end to gun violence. Young people of every race and creed and gender, joining together with one voice calling for change; calling for peace; calling for non-violence.
- In other places, women and men, young and old, of every race and creed, are united and taking to the streets to demand respect for women and an end to male violence against women; demanding an end to inequality for all.
- There are people of all races, creeds and genders coming together to call for an end to racism in our country and in our world. People calling on us all to truly live the principle that all men and women are created equal with the right to liberty and justice.
All of these groups are striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace.
Sometimes it is good to take a few
moments to see that we are making progress in bringing the Gospel to the whole
world. The progress is painfully slow,
but we are driving out demons and
speaking new languages. The serpents are
still biting, but there is also healing.
We are laying hands on the sick and they are being healed. More needs to be done, but we are making
progress.
It is slow progress, but as the old
song says, "I never promised you a rose garden."
Action
Look around your family, your
neighborhood, your city, state and country.
How can you use the power of the Holy Spirit in your world this week, to
be a witness in Jerusalem, throughout
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth?
With each little success God mounts his throne to shouts of joy. Let's hear a little trumpet blast!! ULTREYA!!!
ONWARD!!
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward
justice.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
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